Parkview Foundation awards local recipients

A Pueblo West resident is this year’s recipient of a memorial scholarship from the Parkview Foundation.

Theresa Kuhn received one of two Parkview Medical Staff Healthcare scholarships in memory of Dr. Constance Wehling, a nephrologist.

Each year, the memorial scholarships are named for a different former employee of Parkview Medical Center.

“She was a physician here for many years at Parkview that passed away last year and left a mark on everyone she worked with,” said Michelle Peulen, Parkview public relations specialist.

“Everybody knew her. She spent a lot of time in the neurotrauma intensive care unit and was an amazing woman.”

Each year, for more than 30 years, the Parkview Foundation has provided scholarships to help ensure a good future for healthcare in Southern Colorado.

Scholarships are funded by the Parkview Foundation’s golf tournament and donations. This year, $43,000 was given for the 2013-2014 academic year.

To be eligible for application for a Parkview Foundation scholarship, students must already be enrolled in or accepted into a nursing or health care field or program.

Peulen said students attending schools locally, like Colorado State University-Pueblo or Pueblo Community College are always great, but noted that an increasing number of students are enrolled in online programs too. Some of the scholarships are specifically for students who are also already Parkview Medical Center employees.

This year, 28 students met the qualifications for scholarships and were interviewed by the Foundation’s Board of Directors to determine recipients.

“In the beginning with the nursing shortage, we were really pushing to help those in nursing,” Peulen said.

“But then we saw the need to expand because more people were going back to school to get a Master’s in nursing or a Nurse Practitioner or radiology degree, so the health care scholarships were added.”

Since 1981, the Parkview Foundation has awarded more than $600,000 in scholarships.

“Every student we can help achieve a degree in nursing, we view as a remarkable accomplishment for our community,” said Lisa Siegel, Parkview Foundation marketing director.